Mad Cow Read Online Free Page B

wanted to close his eyes and hide — if he couldn’t see the monsters, then the monsters couldn’t see him, right?
    Thud!
    There was a snarl beside him and James turned to see Frank at his side. Or what Frank had transformed into — four feet at the shoulder, foot-long jaws of sharp, white teeth, and long, bristly, grey fur. Frank was a freaking Tolkeinesque, direwolf-type, ready for battle. James looked down at his knock-kneed legs and hooves.
    He’d never hated anyone as much as he hated Frank at this moment.
    Thud!
    The door shuddered, bent, and almost gave way. James braced himself, unable to do anything but stare at the failing door in terror. The urge to run increased, but then a new feeling came over him. A firm, solid feeling as dense as his beefy shoulders and hips. He wasn’t sure where it came from, but as the last thud sounded and the door gave way, revealing the slavering jaws of the lead werewolf, James willingly and gratefully let that feeling come to the forefront.
    He had a brief moment’s worry, perhaps even regret, remembering Frank’s warning that he should hold on to who he was and not give in to the power of the skin he wore — then the werewolf howled and James’ mind fled, to hell with the consequences.

    * * *
    T he four-legs -with-fangs in the doorway snarled. The two-legs who’d become a four-legs-with-fangs in the room snarled back. Two four-legs-with-fangs behind the one in the doorway snarled.
    For the moment, Cow did not care.
    Cow had little concept of time. There was sun-in-the-sky and no-sun-in-the-sky. There was warm-with-grass and grass-covered-by-snow. More than that, Cow neither knew nor cared.
    Cow did know that it had been many, many suns-in-the-sky since there’d been freedom. Cow had felt the Herd during that time, but hadn’t been part of it. Cow didn’t know where the Herd even was now, but Cow felt, knew , this was a new sun-in-the-sky time. Time to rejoin the Herd and correct the dimly felt wrongs of all the time Cow hadn’t been free.
    The four-legs-with-fangs snarled again.
    Cow snorted. The four-legs-with-fangs was posturing. Cow understood that — that was how one took over a Herd, by showing strength — but this four-legs-with-fangs was ignoring Cow and standing between Cow and the Herd.
    Cow bellowed, a long, lowing moo, designed to warn challengers and attract females … Cow felt a bit odd about that, as though there was something not quite right, but ignored the feeling.
    The four-legs-with-fangs in the doorway looked at Cow, cocked its head to one side, then sat and let its mouth loll open, tongue hanging out.
    This made Cow angry.
    The four-legs-with-fangs found Cow unworthy of a challenge? Puny four-legs-with-fangs, with only two others behind it? No proper pack to challenge Cow?
    Cow’s haunches bunched. Cow leapt forward, front hooves reaching for the four-legs-with-fangs. The four-legs-with-fangs’ eyes widened just before Cow’s hooves struck, then those eyes disappeared as two tons of Cow concentrated onto hooves eight inches wide.
    Over and over and over and over again.
    Hot blood splashed up Cow’s forelegs.
    Cow slowed and then stopped, standing on the mangled, flattened remains of the four-legs-with-fangs.
    Silence reigned for a long moment.
    The two four-legs-with-fangs stared at Cow. Cow ignored the two-legs who’d become a four-legs-with-fangs — that one, Cow somehow knew, was no threat. The two others stared longer, their jaws hanging open.
    Cow gave it a moment, savoring the victory, then bellowed again and charged.

    * * *
    T he flashing blue lights were giving Cow a headache. The incessant rambling of the two-legs who’d come along with those lights wasn’t helping. Cow was tired after the fight and wanted to quite place to doze, but the two legs kept walking around, distracting Cow.
    “Sir,” one of the two-legs with dark fur was saying. “Why is there a cow in your basement?”
    Cow goes where Cow wills!
    “Officer, these